My roomate (halo NUT) swears by them. I bought two pares, one just for the decoder portion I hacked to work with some 7.1 comptuer speakers for a friend and a second pare to use in gaming. Have to say, they work pretty well for that. Music and movies are HORIBLE, but if you want to be able to pin-point where people are by sound they get the job done.

My roomate (halo NUT) swears by them. I bought two pares, one just for the decoder portion I hacked to work with some 7.1 comptuer speakers for a friend and a second pare to use in gaming. Have to say, they work pretty well for that. Music and movies are HORIBLE, but if you want to be able to pin-point where people are by sound they get the job done.

Odd. I figured they would be awful for music, but I thought theyed be decent for movies..

I'm in the same boat here wanting some gaming/music headphones. My seating position is about 15' away from my components. However, I plan on getting a male/female cable from monoprice for about $5 and run it under my baseboard to my chair. Doing this rules out wireless as a hard requirement.

I've researched this thread as well has some threads at head-fi and wherever else I ended up. From all that I've read I'm pretty certain that I don't need 5.1 surround as it seems to be to headphones what Bose is to speakers (underperforming marketing crap). I narrowed myself down to the Sennheiser brand so that I could get myself out of being overwelmed by all the choices, but I'm still open to other brand suggestions.

The models I've chosen are:

HD-555 Price/performance balance
280-Pro Price
HD-595 Performance

Also, I'd like to use Amazon since I've got $50 in credit there.

I have a Harmon Kardon AVR-635 which has a Dolby Headphone jack. Is this a good thing for the 360 or would I need some sort of additional processor?

My current plan is to get the HD-555 and see how I like them. Then later get the 280-Pro and use at work for XM radio streaming and mp3 use or get the HD-595 to replace the HD-555 and bring those to work. My work headphones are some closed Sony $30 ones that have been resoldered due to a wire breaking and now the headpiece needs superglued and the padding cover is ripping.

I'm in the same boat here wanting some gaming/music headphones. My seating position is about 15' away from my components. However, I plan on getting a male/female cable from monoprice for about $5 and run it under my baseboard to my chair. Doing this rules out wireless as a hard requirement.

I've researched this thread as well has some threads at head-fi and wherever else I ended up. From all that I've read I'm pretty certain that I don't need 5.1 surround as it seems to be to headphones what Bose is to speakers (underperforming marketing crap). I narrowed myself down to the Sennheiser brand so that I could get myself out of being overwelmed by all the choices, but I'm still open to other brand suggestions.

The models I've chosen are:

HD-555 Price/performance balance
280-Pro Price
HD-595 Performance

Also, I'd like to use Amazon since I've got $50 in credit there.

I have a Harmon Kardon AVR-635 which has a Dolby Headphone jack. Is this a good thing for the 360 or would I need some sort of additional processor?

My current plan is to get the HD-555 and see how I like them. Then later get the 280-Pro and use at work for XM radio streaming and mp3 use or get the HD-595 to replace the HD-555 and bring those to work. My work headphones are some closed Sony $30 ones that have been resoldered due to a wire breaking and now the headpiece needs superglued and the padding cover is ripping.

Thanks for any input.

I just ordered the Sennheiser HD280Silver for $83 based on comments here at AVS and many other great reviews. When I get them, I will post back my impressions.

I'm in the same boat here wanting some gaming/music headphones. My seating position is about 15' away from my components. However, I plan on getting a male/female cable from monoprice for about $5 and run it under my baseboard to my chair. Doing this rules out wireless as a hard requirement.

I've researched this thread as well has some threads at head-fi and wherever else I ended up. From all that I've read I'm pretty certain that I don't need 5.1 surround as it seems to be to headphones what Bose is to speakers (underperforming marketing crap). I narrowed myself down to the Sennheiser brand so that I could get myself out of being overwelmed by all the choices, but I'm still open to other brand suggestions.

The models I've chosen are:

HD-555 Price/performance balance
280-Pro Price
HD-595 Performance

Also, I'd like to use Amazon since I've got $50 in credit there.

I have a Harmon Kardon AVR-635 which has a Dolby Headphone jack. Is this a good thing for the 360 or would I need some sort of additional processor?

My current plan is to get the HD-555 and see how I like them. Then later get the 280-Pro and use at work for XM radio streaming and mp3 use or get the HD-595 to replace the HD-555 and bring those to work. My work headphones are some closed Sony $30 ones that have been resoldered due to a wire breaking and now the headpiece needs superglued and the padding cover is ripping.

Thanks for any input.

The 595's. Very fun for gaming. The Dolby Headphone jack is fine. Will give you the SS effects without compromising the SQ & bass.

I've been using Tritton AX360 since they hit the market (2005? Early 2006? don't recall when).

I like them. Sure there are limitations but I personally like their 8 speaker set up. To the person who said hearing dialogue is tough on movies, I've watched SD-DVD's, HD-DVD's, and Blu-ray with them for sound and dialogue hasn't been a problem. Of course in-line controls have to be tweaked for different inputs, but that is expected.

Think that was me about dialogue on the Tritton headphones, not saying I couldn't hear it though, just saying dialogue sounded noticably crappy and I blame that on the little drivers. And I didn't like the bass simulating rumble, it did something to my head making me not want to game. But that's just me, surprised me because I didn't consider myself an audiophile but the Trittons for me just didn't sound good and were not comfortable after about 20 minuts. So having experienced that I would say I'd sacrifice the 5.1 for good sound and real bass.

I bought a pair of the AKG DJ 81's and I love them. They are portable (fold up) and they have a GREAT low end. They are on the ear instead of over the ear, which I prefer to let my ear's breath a little. Check em out

KBI -- I've been following this thread since it began, and since you're the self-proclaimed Heaphone Czar, I value your opinion. In the above post, what are you saying "yes" to and what are "they" which surpass the 5.1 headphones? I'm confused.

* those include multiple drivers in each earcpu to claim 5.1 surround effects. Useless and don't waste your money even though they are relatively cheaper. Stack 2 or 3 speakers/drivers in each ear does not creat surround effects. I personally tried 4 to 5 different such products and they all suck. None of them generate any real surround effects at all.

* those that use dedicated DSP processor to create surround effects via a regular headphone. Only two technology that work well: Dolby Headphone and Sony's properitary technology. These are expensive. Pioneer has couple models (around $300) and Sony has one model (>$800). They do work well with great surround sound effects and wireless too.

I have a pair of Pioneer version of Dolby Headphone SE-DIR800C. Easily the best 5.1 surround headphones I've ever owned for movie and XBox gaming. You can also plug in your own favorite headhone to the unit base to get the same fantastic surround effects. There was a comparison a few years back by Maximum PC between this unit and the Sony version. Sony is even better. But it's way too expensive to me.

You don't have to sacrifice 5.1 surround sound effects for sound quality!

I also have some sound questions. I have 2 360s. One goes to an amp. One doesn't. The 2nd 360 needs sound. How do I connect it to headphones? Optical out or the rca? How would I control the volume? Is the 360 output loud enough? What is the best choice for under 150$ and is there any good 5.1 sets? Voice communication is not that important. We are sitting next to each other. Is there any options for volume control that is extremely small? It is the 360 on the left in the small shelf space in the photo. Any suggestions?

Quote:

Originally Posted by formulanerd

yes, you take the toslink from the xbox and plug it into the tritton module.

KBI -- I've been following this thread since it began, and since you're the self-proclaimed Heaphone Czar, I value your opinion. In the above post, what are you saying "yes" to and what are "they" which surpass the 5.1 headphones? I'm confused.

Wha'chu talkin' about, Willis?

I was refering to the AKG DJ 81's for gaming. 2 larger quality drivers will always be better then 8 small, subpar drivers with a rumble effect instead of bass..

* those include multiple drivers in each earcpu to claim 5.1 surround effects. Useless and don't waste your money even though they are relatively cheaper. Stack 2 or 3 speakers/drivers in each ear does not creat surround effects. I personally tried 4 to 5 different such products and they all suck. None of them generate any real surround effects at all.

* those that use dedicated DSP processor to create surround effects via a regular headphone. Only two technology that work well: Dolby Headphone and Sony's properitary technology. These are expensive. Pioneer has couple models (around $300) and Sony has one model (>$800). They do work well with great surround sound effects and wireless too.

I have a pair of Pioneer version of Dolby Headphone SE-DIR800C. Easily the best 5.1 surround headphones I've ever owned for movie and XBox gaming. You can also plug in your own favorite headhone to the unit base to get the same fantastic surround effects. There was a comparison a few years back by Maximum PC between this unit and the Sony version. Sony is even better. But it's way too expensive to me.

You don't have to sacrifice 5.1 surround sound effects for sound quality!

I was intensively researching headphones 'bout three weeks ago when I tumbled upon this great thread.

Since then I bought my cans. I decided to go with the Sennheiser HD595. I know that this is not the cheapest out there - I bought it for 170 from "the Bay", new.

I based my purchasing decision on the followings:

Headphone technology is matured enough and is not expected to change radically. Just like with speakers, it is reasonable to buy a better set for a little more money – it won't get outdated quick unlike some other electronics.

I wanted a solid, over-the-ear set with open-air design. It is true that hey make you look just like Princess Leila, but they tend to be very comfortable (no sweaty ears) and they sound fabulous thanks to bigger drivers. I don't plan on wearing them outside my house anyway…

Sennheisers are constantly on the top. The 595 is a great buy in particular – it is a newer design with extremely low impedance, so even today's small audio devices can drive it with their weak amps. (I tried two other headphones on the underpowered "headphone out" connection of my receiver, and they pretty much sounded like cr@p with a lot of background noise. So I was a little concerned when first trying out the 595, and it sounded effortless and super clean even at lower volumes. Bingo!)

(Word of caution – there are two versions out there, the one I am referring to has a lower, 50-Ohm impedance – don't buy the 120-Ohm version – you might have to purchase a separate headphone amp for that one, and those are a little on the expensive side!)

There are other great solutions out there for differing needs, but I can recommend this one whole-heartedly.

Thanks for the 595 review. They were at the top of my list and I was getting ready to order them last week. However, I just bought two iPhones so my headphone budget went into negative territory. Now I have a couple months to do some more research.

The 595's are great, I may eventually get a pair for home, but I wanted something I could also use on my commute so "open air" and "Princess Leila" were out of the question on a train and subway (LOL).

The K81's aren't the most "accurate" headphones you can find out there but they are one of the most "fun" complete with a nice low end that I can consider portable. I don't really like IEM (inner ear monitors), so I was looking for a full size headset with portability.

Plus they just look cool as I get a lot of people asking me where I got them... if you never plan to take them out in public and don't mind sound leakage open air is the way to go.

I also have some sound questions. I have 2 360s. One goes to an amp. One doesn't. The 2nd 360 needs sound. How do I connect it to headphones? Optical out or the rca? How would I control the volume? Is the 360 output loud enough? What is the best choice for under 150$ and is there any good 5.1 sets? Voice communication is not that important. We are sitting next to each other. Is there any options for volume control that is extremely small? It is the 360 on the left in the small shelf space in the photo. Any suggestions?

See the web links (provided in my earlier post or see this one) to the adapters I mentioned earlier (the ones from 2 female RCA to 1/8" stereo). Then you get a female jack-female jack adapter (aka as coupler) to connect a headphone set. Example here. You cannot control the volume with this. The other option -which I personally like very much- is the 5.1 JVC controller as mentioned by KBI. This will give you 5.1 SS and volume control.

See the web links (provided in my earlier post or see this one) to the adapters I mentioned earlier (the ones from 2 female RCA to 1/8" stereo). Then you get a female jack-female jack adapter (aka as coupler) to connect a headphone set. Example here. You cannot control the volume with this. The other option -which I personally like very much- is the 5.1 JVC controller as mentioned by KBI. This will give you 5.1 SS and volume control.

anyone have any other suggestions for a small ac powered cheap headphone amp?

Can you output sound from the 360 via usb?

Quote:

Originally Posted by oceanjumper

See the web links (provided in my earlier post or see this one) to the adapters I mentioned earlier (the ones from 2 female RCA to 1/8" stereo). Then you get a female jack-female jack adapter (aka as coupler) to connect a headphone set. Example here. You cannot control the volume with this. The other option -which I personally like very much- is the 5.1 JVC controller as mentioned by KBI. This will give you 5.1 SS and volume control.